Kingdom Hearts III: Armies of Chaos
by derajdragonlord
Summary: The Organization has been beaten, and the Door of Light opened...But sometimes, the end is only a means to a new beginning, as the Keybearers will soon learn firsthand...
1. Coming of a Storm

DISCLAIMER: This fanfic is made through a partnership with Regrem Erutaerc. He came up with a plot, and some outlines for some of the main scenes. I worked out these ideas into a story format, and he proofread afterwards. Essentially, it's a joint work, and we've both worked hard on this. ...Also, neither of us owns KH. Just the new characters and plotline. 

**Kingdom Hearts III: Armies of Chaos**

Night had fallen in Twilight Town. It was always a short night, but the perpetual sunset meant that it was never very bright either.

The nights lasted longest near the tower the great wizard Yen Sid lived in. Whether natural or not, it gave time for the Wizard to sleep… and wizard's dreams were not something to be trifled with.

The wizard lay on his bed, and suddenly began to toss and turn. A powerful dream welled up in his tired mind…

_Yen Sid found himself floating in a strange place. He'd seen many strange and wonderful things in his life… but this place was nothing he'd ever seen. It resembled the endless abyss, but there were divisions in it, and things seemed to be in constant _flux_, as though some sort of reaction too big for him to see was going on…_

_He suddenly recognized something looming out of this background… a large, white door. The entrance to Kingdom Hearts!_

_The wizard now knew this was a vision of great importance. One didn't dream of Kingdom Hearts…_

_Yen Sid saw now that the gateway was not alone… a massive battle raged in front of the door. _

_Formless entities of darkness raged thickly towards the gate. They were hindered by grey figures that resembled nothing so much as outlines of humans filled with… nothingness. The two armies were suddenly met by a third party._

_Great creatures of light, wielding what seemed to be… yes, they were armed with KEYBLADES! This force clashed with the two armies of darkness and nothing…_

_Yen Sid was unable to do anything besides observe the carnage unfolding. The three forces fought fruitlessly to try and drive their rivals away from the doorway. Yen Sid suddenly noticed that a sort of incandescent smoke rose from all of the creatures as they fought and died. It was beginning to mix together into a great dark cloud…_

_The fighting slowly halted. All three forces looked up to the vast dark shape above them. There was a sharp stab of fear in the air… Yen Sid could practically hear a wordless moan of mortal terror rise from the masses below._

_The cloud had grown monstrous, and suddenly, lightning struck. A pair of yellow eyes suddenly opened within the cloud, looking scornfully down upon the gathered creatures, who shrank from its gaze._

_Yen Sid couldn't help but feel he'd seen those eyes before…_

_The horrible eyes withdrew, and part of the cloud condensed into a more humanoid shape. The eyes burned within the head of the new shape. It held up a hand, and Yen Sid raised a ghostly hand to shield his eyes. The thorn-like energy of nothingness, as well as light and darkness energy, gathered in the hand of the being, and united in a way Yen Sid had never seen… it filled him with fear. He then saw this horrible being was not alone… others were following it… all full of this same horrifying power… light, dark, and nothingness brought together. Before long, ten new beings stood behind the first one. They raised their hands, and beasts both great and terrible appeared at their will. Yen Sid once more felt the terror of the former armies as the new beasts tore through them, aiming for Kingdom Hearts. One was able to finally force its way through. _

_There was a bright flash, and Yen Sid was thrown far, far back. When he saw once more, he now saw the source of the chaotic flux he'd seen before._

_All the worlds hovered before his eyes, revolving slowly in a realm of pure light. Below them... a never-ending, bottomless abyss of darkness. Nothingness stood between the light and darkness. Yen Sid, however, saw something that he knew should not be there._

_A fourth realm existed, above the other three... another plane of existence, separate from light, darkness, or nothing... Yen Sid was pulled rapidly towards a singular world in the realm of light, but the light from it prevented it from being perceived. A line of light traveled from it to one of the three sections of the realm above, the lighter side. Yen Sid heard a voice suddenly boom out of the void he occupied._

_**"The Door Has Already Been Open." **_

_The eyes from before appeared in the center section briefly glowing in a bright orange._

_**"But If Actions Aren't Taken Swiftly, It May Already Be Too Late."**_

_A beam of light shot down from the center section. The light went straight through the Realm of Light and to the Realm of Nothingness, hitting the Door to Kingdom Hearts. Energy flowed from it, and the Realm of Nothingness started to move and become energy tentacles itself. The horrified wizard watched the tentacles of Nothing launching onto the Realms of Light and Dark, pulling them into the nothingness. An explosion of cataclysmic proportions began. The wizard cried out and covered his eyes. _

_Suddenly, Yen Sid found himself within a twisted world. It defied his imagination, and was filled with Light, Dark, and seeping with energies of Nothingness spouting out of cracks in the very realm. The shocked wizard was forced by his vision to watch mutated beings walk by, all seemingly in pain. He heard the voice again, looking wildly about._

_**"This Shall Come To Pass Should The Chaos Be Breeched. But, There Is Still Hope."**_

_Suddenly, the realm in front of Yen Sid dissolved, as the purest of light shone through the realm, breaking up the chaos and returning the creatures to the beings they once were._

_**"Five of the Purest Heroes, Representers of All the Realms, Can Save Us All." **_

_Five Sillouttes suddenly appeared. Yen Sid tried to make them out… two had familiar hairstyles…_

_"Sora? Riku?" He asked, but there was no reply from the silhouettes._

_ But, all five silhouettes' forms were certainly human, and all wielded Keyblades. _

_**"But Though They Can Save Us, They Face Much Danger Ahead." **_

_All five entered battle stances, and Yen Sid was pulled back to see them surrounded by all entities from all three realms, with the mysterious creatures from the dark clouds in the background. _

_**"All The Realms Fear Their Power, And Only Through Love and Friendship Can They Break Through The Chaos..." **_

_All five figures placed their Keyblades together, as silhouettes of several people placed their hands on their shoulders, joined by other people standing supportingly behind the group. Yen Sid saw these people included Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, Cloud, Cid, Merlin, Ansem the Wise, Axel, with Larxene by his side, Zexion, Demyx, Xigbar, and Luxord. Suddenly, light shone from the Keyblades, breaking through all of the entities charging at them._

_The Light Entities, rather than dying like the Nothings and Dark creatures, instead fell on their knees, bowing their heads to the five. The apparent leader of the light entities walked up to the group. Words were not exchanged, but it looked down in shame, then looked up in determination, nodded, and ordered the Light entities to attack the strange new beings, fighting alongside the Keybearers and their friends. Finally, the voice boomed across Yen Sid's mind again._

_** "Only Through Teamwork and Friendship Can True Chaos Be Stopped... And Peace Brought To All the Realms... "**_

_There was a blinding flash, and the eyes glowing in the chaos widened in surprise before disappearing._

**_"Haste Must Be Taken, For The Chaos Awakens Soon..."_ **

Yen Sid awoke in a sweat. He quickly left his bed and put on his robes. He began gathering his things together, and headed towards the gateway he'd left to Disney Castle.

"This is dangerous… the King! I have to warn the King!" He muttered to himself, walking through the magical hallways.

Disney Castle was treated to much longer nights than Twilight Town. It was still the dark of night when Yen Sid hurried through the Courtyard.

Goofy's knights scrambled to attention as Yen Sid walked past. The king and his captain hadn't even been back a whole day. Why was the wizard here now?

King Mickey and Queen Minnie Mouse were preparing to retire for the night together for the first time in over a year. However, the tired king was surprised when a royal messenger ran in.

"Your Majesty! The wizard Yen Sid is here to speak to you! He said it's urgent!"

King Mickey looked at the messenger in shock and more than a little devastated disbelief. Xemnas hadn't even been defeated for 24 hours! Surely… surely there couldn't be something so important that it couldn't wait until morning?

He looked helplessly at Minnie, who nodded, sighing in resignation.

"Go on. Yen Sid wouldn't come here for nothing."

Yen Sid paced the throne room. King Mickey entered. Yen Sid noticed that the King cut a poor figure as he came in… the small mouse was tired from travel and combat. He looked in no condition to hear what Yen Sid had to tell him, but the wizard regretfully realized he didn't have a choice.

"Master Yen Sid. I was told you have something important? Is it a vision?" Mickey asked, exhausted, but trying to maintain his kingly composure.

"You… might want to sit down to hear this, your Majesty," Yen Sid said gently.

"That bad?" Mickey said unhappily.

"You must contact Sora and his friends as soon as you can… something is happening. I do not understand it… but I fear it, your Majesty."

Mickey sat down, sighing in resignation.

"Tell me what you saw."

The Destiny Islands 

Sora was lying on his bed, fast asleep. He had certainly earned it; he was tired to the very marrow of his bones after his battle with Organization XIII.

But that was done with, now; the worlds were safe, and he was back with Riku and Kairi… on the world he'd been trying to return to with them for almost two years now…

However, his sleep wasn't peaceful. Sora began to turn around, as if something borrowed him. His sleeping face began to frown.

_Sora was floating in a vast white nothingness. He looked around. Where was he? Why wasn't there anything here?_

_After a few moments, Sora's feet again touched a ground he couldn't see, and Sora walked through the blank realm, trying to find anything besides white. He suddenly realized someone was walking towards him from the opposite direction, looking every bit as confused as he was. With a gasp, he realized it was Kairi!_

_The two noticed each other at about the same time. Kairi ran over to Sora._

_"Sora! Where… where are we? And why are you in my dream?"_

_"I thought this was… MY dream… but I'm not even sure it's a dream anymore…" Sora trailed off. He was beginning to suspect there was something very wrong with this. Kairi wouldn't be asking why he was there if it was just some dream, and he strongly doubted that they'd be wearing their nightclothes. Sora had fifteen years of dreams to back up the conclusion this was not a normal dream. _

_The two heard footsteps and turned around to see two faces they weren't expecting at all._

_Roxas and Namine walked up to them. Kairi's Nobody was wearing a nightgown identical to Kairi's, although hers was white instead of lavender. Roxas was wearing white and blue versions of Sora's black and red pajamas. All four of the group seemed extremely surprised to see the other three._

_"What's this? What's going on?" Roxas asked, looking around. _

_"I don't know… but aren't you supposed to be inside me or something? Why are you in my dream, too?"  
_

_"My dreams have been YOUR memories for the most part, Sora. I don't know what this is or why we're here," Roxas responded._

_"This… is a dream of some sort… but it's a connection between the four of us… That shouldn't be possible!" Namine exclaimed. _

_"Hm… well, since when has what SHOULD be possible affected us?" Sora commented. The others nodded; it was largely true. _

_"I'm not sure what this is for, though… We should talk to Riku when we wake up, I think," Kairi said unsurely._

_The four stood in thought, trying to figure out what was happening. _

Elsewhere… 

A faint wind blew across a desolate, barren city. The buildings might once have been white, but they were covered with dust, and the metal had rusted away long ago. The place was a ruin, sitting beneath a featureless grey sky.

A ragged black shape lay prone on the ground. It suddenly stirred, and sat up. It was a man with white hair and tan skin, wearing a black cloak.

Xemnas looked around. Where was he? How was he even alive? Sora and Riku had defeated him… hadn't they?

"I thought I was to return to Nothing… perhaps there is no respite for Nobodies…" Xemnas said thoughtfully. He looked at the buildings… this world was like the World That Never Was… but it was a forgotten ruin. Was there anything here besides him?

He heard a rustling and turned around. To his surprise, he saw a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a cloak identical to his… it was one of his former comrades.

"Demyx?" Xemnas asked incredulously. He was CERTAIN that Demyx had died fighting the Keybearer and his cadre! Demyx was surprised, but only for a moment. He turned, looking in a direction at what Xemnas presumed to be somebody else, although the buildings obscured Xemnas's perception of them.

"Guys! The Superior's awake!"

Xemnas groggily got up, and after staggering a few paces, walked over to Demyx. He saw suddenly that they were NOT alone… the entire Organization was grouped not far off. Xemnas walked over to them, his confusion evident.

"I thought that there was only nothingness in our future… How is it we're all still alive?"

Luxord snorted, looking up from the game of Blackjack he was playing against Xaldin.

"If you can call THIS living." He lazily put down two cards, turning back to Xaldin. "Blackjack."

Xaldin merely slammed his cards down in frustration. "Can we do SOMETHING else, Luxord? You always win with cards!" Xaldin sneered, his growl evident. Luxord merely crossed his arms and smirked.

"I'm open to suggestions."

Demyx walked back over to the group, and addressed Xemnas.

"From what we can tell, this place is called the After-Naught; it's where all Nobodies go when they die, not just us. It might as well have been Nothing, though… You would not BELIEVE how boring it gets here. And the fact we can't get out is sort of annoying, too." After saying that, Demyx walked back over to where he'd been before, apparently talking to Xigbar.

Xemnas looked around, and noticed that one of his compatriots was standing much farther away than the other eleven… Axel. The Superior teleported over to Axel, crossing his arms. Axel looked over his shoulder at Xemnas, rolling his eyes.

"What do you want, _"boss"_?" he asked sarcastically.

"What do they mean, we can't get out?" Xemnas asked, his eyes narrowing. Axel was a traitor; he was probably this far away so that Vexen, Saix, and Marluxia couldn't get him, since they'd be most likely to want payback for his betrayals. Axel lazily pointed at the edges of the wasted city.

"There's a big barrier around this entire hellhole. There's gotta be SOMETHING more interesting past it, but it's too strong. The twelve of us teamed up couldn't even faze the thing. Honestly, if we could go somewhere else, do you think we'd be hanging around _here_?"

"Hm… a barrier. This might merit closer inspection." Xemnas said pensively, mostly to himself. He walked away. Axel sighed, and Larxene walked up, her expression somewhat annoyed. Axel stood bolt upright as she approached, his expression awkward.

"Heh… wasn't expecting YOU to be coming over here, Larx'. You come to yell at me too?" He said unhappily. Larxene simply crossed her arms, glaring at Axel.

**_Yep, she's still mad about Castle Oblivion… guess I can't blame her for that…_** Axel thought to himself, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Look, about the business at the castle… I'm sorry that happened, okay? I was doing what I thought had to be done. All I got for it was the traitors AND loyalists mad at me." Axel said, attempting to break the silence. Larxene still said nothing.

Axel was getting extremely uncomfortable now. Xaldin, Saix, and Marluxia had been furious with him when they caught up to him here… and Vexen and Zexion… they hadn't attacked him or yelled at him, but the ominous glares they sent in his direction every now and again worried him a lot more. Axel could handle people yelling at him; but you can't tune out silence. Axel's teeth ground as Larxene continued to simply glare at him, as though she was STILL waiting for him to say something.

"Look, if you want to take a shot at me for what I did, go ahead. If you want to chew me out for stabbing everyone in the back, you won't say anything the others haven't already. But either do SOMETHING, or leave me alone," he finally said through clenched teeth, trying not to blow up at Larxene.

The woman simply smirked slightly, finding enjoyment with his nervousness, and sat down next to Axel.

"The rest of the group's too noisy. I'm just trying to find somewhere to sit down. Do you have a problem with that, Axel?" she said, not looking at him. Axel stared at Larxene, not sure what was going through her mind, but somewhat alarmed. Finally, nervously, he sat down.

"It's a free wasteland. Sit where you want." The two sat for a while in silence, watching the empty city.

Axel suddenly focused in on Xemnas's receding form, noticing something amiss.

"What the-?" He said quietly. Larxene looked confused.

"What?"

"Look at the Superior… Do you notice anything?"

"…No. What are you looking at?"

"His shadow… that's a very deep shadow, and it's a lot bigger than it should be…"

"Axel, what's your point? His shadow's just a bit odd." Axel suddenly looked at Larxene.

"My question is, _how is he casting a **shadow** if there's no **sun**_?" Larxene's eyes widened.

"I'm following him. Are you coming with me?" Axel asked, beginning to walk in the direction Xemnas had gone.

After a moment's hesitation, Larxene shook her head in disbelief.

"I must be going crazy… Axel, wait up!"


	2. Unexpected Acquaintances

DISCLAIMER: This fanfic is made through a partnership with Regrem Erutaerc. He came up with a plot, and some outlines for some of the main scenes. I worked out these ideas into a story format, and he proofread afterwards. Essentially, it's a joint work, and we've both worked hard on this. ...Also, neither of us owns KH. Just the new characters and plotline. 

**Chapter Two**

The Realm overflowed with light. Two men sat at a table, a sheaf of neatly written reports out before them. One was a man with flowing white hair and dark skin, and the other was a man with light blonde hair, beard, and mustache. The older, bearded man was wearing ice blues and whites where he'd once worn red and black. He observed the reports with interest.

"I'm suprised I was able to adapt to the light so quickly after dwelling in darkness for so long..." he said, pondering the reports laid before him before returning his gaze toward his companion.

"I understand your confusion, but light is easy to embrace when one does not fear it," his companion replied. Ansem chuckled.

"As I'm sure you know quite well. But, for such a realm as this to exist... a realm split into three, where those who are incomplete go when they die... It's a lot to take in. And the fact that I arrived here... I knew that anything was possible, but I never could have imagined it would allow me to see _you_ again… Xehanort." At the mention of his name, Xehanort's orange eyes glowed in amusement at his master's confusion. Ansem's eyes, having adjusted better to the light, could see his student more clearly now. Xehanort was wearing rather simple, baggy white robes. He had one large shoulder pad on one arm, and a smaller one on the other. The golden bronze shoulder pads, despite their mismatched size, both had a distinct yellow swirling pattern upon them, glittering in the light. He also wore two bronze wire-like gauntlets of some sort, as well as armored shin guards sporting same pattern as his shoulder pads. One of his gauntlets, as well as both shin guards, were obscured by his large robes. Around his neck, an armored collar was also worn, with a golden yellow crown etched into the extension that rose up to his chin. Xehanort now looked far more like a philosopher or mage than a scientist, his nose and chin now more pronounced, yet his eyes yielding kindness. He cocked his head to the side briefly, suddenly feeling curiosity from his master's presence.

"How exactly did you come to be here, Master? What has happened since I've come to this place?" Ansem's face grew serious again.

"Much, my student... Many things have transpired since you were human..." He shook his head. "The actions of your Nobody and my own short-sightedness led to me being blasted from the realm I knew into this place... I attempted to digitize Kingdom Hearts itself... The reaction was catastrophic, but I believe your Nobody and the rest of Organization XIII were defeated, thanks to the Keybearers." Xehanort's eyes widened, looking rather unsettled by this news.

"HUMAN Keybearers?" He asked in a shocked voice. The concept seemed to alarm him for some reason. "Yes. Sora, his friends Riku and Kairi, and King Mickey as well. You remember him..."

"... Yes... So, they were the ones that stopped the Heartless and Nobodies... That is good. I am… merely surprised..."

"You may also want to know that your Heartless is still around, to the best of my knowledge..." Ansem added, looking evenly at his student. Xehanort stood bolt upright.

"WHAT?" He shouted, horrified.

"He has been forced into submission under Riku, a boy he tried to possess... Riku…. He can wield both light and darkness, and even nothingness together like no one I have ever seen… He is quite powerful. Though, Sora is stronger still." Xehanort looked thoroughly unnerved by what he'd heard. His eyes bore a distinct dread that puzzled Ansem.

"I am glad that there wasn't chaos and strife on the worlds because of my foolishness with my experiments... but you must understand that this is quite a bit to take in…" Xehanort said shakily. He wiped his forehead, flustered.

"I understand perfectly." Ansem responded, although his student's reaction to the Keybearers had suprised him. Xehanort sighed, and stood for a moment, his hand over his forehead, clearly in deep thought. "Is there anything else I might want to know?" Xehanort asked, sitting back down.

"Sora has sealed the Keyholes of the worlds against the Heartless and the villains that were able to manipulate them due to your Heartless's machinations. Even Kingdom Hearts has been protected by his Keyblade."

"I thought you said you tried to digitize Kingdom Hearts?" Xehanort said, his expression confused.

"Not the original, I assure you… The one I attacked was a Kingdom Hearts created by your Nobody from fallen Heartless…"

"How was the original reached?" Xehanort said with interest. "Even when I opened the pathway to the Door to Darkness, I was drowned in the Darkness and lost my heart."

"Your Heartless manipulated Malificent and other greedy fools like her to capture the Princesses of Heart. Using their hearts, devoid of all darkness, he was able to open the path and proceed to Kingdom Hearts."

"But our world would have been consumed by darkness if that had happened! Even if there had been a passage to Kingdom Hearts…"

"You can thank Sora for our world still being safe. He was able to rescue the hearts of the seven princesses, and they used their powers to hold back the darkness long enough for Sora to seal both the Door to Darkness and Kingdom Hearts." Xehanort looked shocked by this. Glad, yes… yet shocked.

"You were telling the truth when you said much has transpired…" he sighed as he wearily slumped down in his chair. Ansem gathered the reports on the desk back together, keeping them neatly organized.

"Xehanort, would it be all right to borrow these notes you've compiled until I'm done reading them?"

"Yes… That would be fine." Xehanort responded, still looking overwhelmed. He noticed Ansem walking away. "Where are you going?"

"If I am to learn of this realm I'm in, what better way than to explore it?" Xehanort cringed.

"It would be… ill-advised… for you to do so, Master Ansem." Ansem looked at him, confused.

"And why is that, Xehanort?"

"Most of my kind in the After-Light don't... take kindly… to what they consider as an anomaly. Your presence here, a human within the After-Light, is the very definition of an anomaly, Master Ansem. But… I suppose it'll be all right if you stay near my lab. I have a lot of influence here, and I have requested to be left alone for my experiments for the most part. So as long as you stay near my lab, you should be fine."

Ansem looked at his student oddly.

"Thank you for the warning, Xehanort. I'll stay within the boundaries for now, then, but I'll be expecting further details on what you mean by your kind not liking anomalies when I return."

"… As you wish, Master Ansem." The sage of Radiant Gardens then turned and walked out of the Laboratory. Xehanort looked out the window.

"Odd… I have a feeling of ill omen… but not from Master Ansem…" His eyes narrowed. "Whatever this feeling is, it's far worse than what I felt when Rale-Lieu said he was going to check on that disturbance on the other side of the realm…."

The After-Naught 

Xemnas walked through the abandoned city. He noticed there weren't just Organization members in this place… He had spotted large groups of noticeably more muscular Dusks, the emblems on their foreheads now jet black, milling about throughout the ruined buildings. Xemnas found their peculiarities rather curious, but paid them no mind. After all, there were far more… _interesting_ things to focus his attention on. Xemnas stopped walking. The massive shadow beneath him moved into the nearby shadows, as though it was trying to hide.

"You can come out now, you know. They won't see you now that we're this far away." Xemnas said. Laughter rang out suddenly from seemingly nowhere.

"I should have known it wouldn't have been so easy to sneak up on you. After all…" The shadow suddenly condensed and rose into the form of a person, a person quite well known.

"…You're me." Xemnas stared into the familiar dark smirk of his counterpart… the Heartless that still referred to itself as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Xemnas scowled.

"How are you here? I thought you'd been forced into submission by that Riku boy."

"He resisted my influence, even as he finally embraced the darkness… It irritated me. When I felt a familiar presence in the Realm of Nothingness… I made a little switch."

Xemnas observed his smirking Heartless with distaste. His remaining instincts screamed for him to kill the creature now; he couldn't reclaim his heart unless it was rejoined to something accessible, like Kingdom Hearts. The Heartless before him was absolutely useless.

_Or is he?_ Xemnas suddenly realized. No, there might yet be a use for his counterpart. He'd keep him alive… for now.

"If I cannot be rid of you, then at least follow me in your natural shape… It'll let me keep an eye on you." His heartless scoffed quietly, but did as he was asked.

A few buildings back, Axel was beginning to turn the corner when a hand shot out and pulled him back.

"GAH!" He turned and saw Larxene. "What was that for?"

"Which of us has stealth training? Why, I believe it's me." Larxene whispered back while gesturing to herself in a coy manner. "They would've seen you. _I'LL_ go first, if you don't mind." Axel sighed, and followed Larxene as she stealthily moved from building to building.

Axel didn't know much about the Superior's companion, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that was his Heartless following him… Axel wondered why Xemnas was putting up with the thing…

Finally, Xemnas could go no further. An opaque shimmering wall cut off the city from whatever was outside of it. It stretched as high and wide as Xemnas could see. His Heartless crossed his arms.

"Pfft. So, this is the Barrier? I'm not impressed."

"You don't seem to be impressed by anything that's not related to darkness, do you? This barrier is probably mightier than it appears… kind of like YOU."

"Look who's talking. Don't forget that you have my face as well."

Across the street, Axel sighed.

"Well, there's at least one thing those two have in common." Larxene looked curiously at him.

"What?"

"We've seen these two for less than half an hour, and I can already tell they're both madly in love with the sound of their own voices." Axel said sardonically. Larxene suppressed a small laugh.

Xemnas sized up the barrier before him.

"You don't seriously believe you can succeed where twelve of your minions have failed?" His heartless asked, incredulous.

Xemnas glared at his Heartless before re-directing his attention to the barrier before him. "Let's just see how it fares now, against the true power of all the Nobodies…. the Power of the Realm of Nothingness!" Xemnas said, firing a titanic cluster of Nothingness bolts at the barrier. The black and white thorns on the bolts struck the barrier, but the barrier merely pulsed once as they began to smash against it in increasing numbers.

When the blast finished, the barrier was completely unharmed. The Heartless scoffed.

"It seems the Power of Nothing is aptly named." He stated airily. Xemnas smoldered.

"I suppose that using the Power of Darkness would _easily_ break the barrier, then?"

"Easily. Let me show you!" the Seeker of Darkness said arrogantly, raising his hands. While Axel and Larxene again had to look away from the massive display of power, Xemnas now watched the barrier intently. Ansem's attack still left not even a scratch, but this fact meant nothing to the Heartless as he used his fury to further power the blast. Xemnas noticed that the pulsing area of the barrier was now black, but it had been grey when his bolts had struck it…

After over half an hour of the Heartless pouring his energy into beams of darkness, the barrier was still untouched. He finally broke it off, swearing uncontrollably in his fury. Xemnas eyed the barrier, an idea flashing in his mind as its color returning to its original opaqueness.

"Attack the barrier again, and this time, keep at it." His heartless glared at him, reluctant to obey. Xemnas glared back.

"Just do it. This barrier might not be as indestructible as we thought."

Sighing, the Heartless again poured forth a torrent of dark power. Xemnas watched for a moment, and suddenly replicated his first attack on the barrier. It remained black, and the Seeker of Darkness's blasts continued to do nothing. But now… Xemnas's attack was breaking the blackened barrier. It slowly cracked… and abruptly shattered under the onslaught of Nothing Bolts. Xemnas and the Seeker of Darkness had to protect their eyes from the light on the other side. Xemnas smiled.

"As I thought… these barriers are invincible to light, darkness, or nothing…but not more than one." The Heartless looked surprised, but finally scowled for not having figured it out himself. Xemnas gestured into the radiant world ahead.

"Come… I want to see this new realm." He said, walking into the light. His Heartless gingerly followed, his displeasure evident at the place he was entering.

Axel and Larxene exchanged a look.

"I have a baaaad feeling about this, Axel." Larxene said nervously. Axel gulped.

"Me too. But… we came this far. I'm not letting some feeling stop me." He replied, striding towards the light. Larxene stood for a minute, and then sighed.

"I am _definitely _out of my mind…" She groaned, walking after Axel.


	3. The Seeds of Chaos

Chapter 3 

Sora sat up in bed groggily. He scratched his head and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Mumbling sleepily to himself, he got up and got dressed, wearing the same outfit he'd worn on his return home. He didn't need to use the combination powers it offered any more, but it was, he admitted, the only thing that fit him right now after being away from his home for 2 years.

Sora paused, now a bit more awake. He frowned as he remembered the odd dream he'd had last night.

"That was a really weird dream…" he said to himself, thinking about how it had felt extremely real…

"Should I talk to the others about it?" he wondered, walking over to his door. As his fingers wrapped around the handle, Sora looked up suddenly, tensing.

Something was different.

In his grogginess, he hadn't noticed it, but he knew there was something about, or perhaps, in, this room that hadn't been there when he fell asleep. His eyes narrowed.

A whisper? There was an odd ambient noise, faint as an insect walking across a piece of sandpaper. Sora couldn't really hear or make anything out of it, but he knew it was there.

Sora waited a moment, and then opened the door and proceeded downstairs when nothing else happened. A few minutes later, he walked into the kitchen, and was able to realize he actually had been gone for two years…

"Good morning, Sora." A woman's voice came over from the table. Sora turned and saw his mother at the table.

Sora had been told frequently he looked more like his mother than his father; they shared the same brown hair and kind blue eyes. However, she was not very tall and more slender than Sora; he'd be looking down at her soon when his growth spurt finished.

"Good morning, Mom." Sora said, smiling brightly. His mother calmly drank her coffee, and then got up, giving Sora a hug.

"I'm glad you're finally home," she said. Sora closed his eyes; he hadn't realized in his travels across the stars just how much he'd missed his parents…

"Me too…" he said softly. His mother finally broke the embrace, and walked back over to the table, taking a sip of coffee as she sat back down. Sora looked around, not noticing his father anywhere.

"Where's Dad?" He asked, scratching his head.

"He's already gone off to work. I'd never seen him looking so happy…" His mother replied with a soft smile. "Of course, since you're finally home… I can't say I blame him." Sora grinned.

"I'd say this is the happiest I've been in two years," he said brightly. His mother smiled and ruffled his hair; Sora felt another pang of nostalgia, remembering that she'd always done so before he'd left.

"You've grown so much, Sora… but you're still the same ray of sunshine I remember…" she said fondly. Sora smiled.

The two of them ate breakfast together, each speaking of how the time had passed since the night Sora left. After about an hour, Sora's mother looked over at the clock and sighed.

"I have to go to work, Sora. You can go to the island today if you want," she said, getting up and giving Sora a kiss on the cheek. "Your father will be home at four. Have a good day…"

"You too, Mom…" Sora said. Under the surface, he was feeling surprised at how alien his former routine seemed to him…

Sora sat for a moment, quietly eating a bowl of cereal. He remembered the night before… the triumphant return home after defeating Xemnas…

_The sun was sinking over the horizon, setting the water and clouds aflame with its light. Sora, Kairi, and Riku paddled a boat back to the mainland. Selphie was sitting on the shore by herself, not noticing them until they were a bit closer. The girl shaded her eyes, which then widened in surprise._

_"Kairi! Riku! Sora!" She shouted, waving and smiling excitedly. The trio finally put up their boat and ran over to her. "Where have the three of you been!" Selphie asked, still amazed to see Riku and Sora with Kairi after two years._

_"It's a long, long story, Selphie." Sora said, smiling tiredly. _

_"'OY! Selphie!" Tidus called, walking down the beach, Wakka a bit further back. He was startled to see Sora, Riku, and Kairi with her. _

_"Sora! Riku!" He called, amazement all over his face. He turned back._

_"Hey! Wakka! Sora and Riku are back!" _

_The six teenagers stood on the beach for another hour after that, making up in part for lost time. It was night by the time that Riku, Sora, and Kairi entered the city. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, living further out than the trio, had reluctantly parted with them soon after. Selphie had been particularly emotional, having caught all three in an almost awkwardly long hug before departing to her house. Wakka and Tidus were still somewhat dazed by the sudden appearance of their three lost friends. Sora, Riku, and Kairi walked down the island, each contemplating their return. Kairi, waving to the two friends, walked into her house. Sora noticed Riku seemed to be contemplating something._

_"Riku? You all right?"_

_"It's just so weird," Riku said, partially to himself, partially to Sora. "After all the time I spent here wanting to leave and see other worlds… now that I've seen so many of them… I never realized how much I missed this place." _

_Sora nodded. _

_"It's good to be back," He said, grinning, "Look on the bright side! Now we don't have to leave here again. The worlds are finally safe…" Riku nodded, and walked towards his house. Sora now felt a maelstrom of emotions as he realized where he was._

_His house…_

_Sora, feeling as though he was in a dream, walked up the steps to the porch, and, after a moment's hesitation, went in. _

_His parents were sitting in the den, solving a crossword puzzle together like they had been on the night before he Heartless came… His father looked up suddenly, seeing Sora. For a moment, he didn't recognize him, but then he stood up, looking unsure whether to believe what he was seeing._

_"Sora?" he asked softly. Sora was overwhelmed._

_"Mom…Dad…" He stood unsure for a moment, and then rushed forward, embracing both of his shocked parents. His mother and father, overcoming their surprise, were both smiling, although Sora saw his mother had tears in her eyes._

_"It's really you…" she said, looking at her son in tear-filled amazement, "You were gone for so long…"_

_"I'm sorry that I worried you," Sora said, his voice thick with emotion. _

_"It doesn't matter, son." His father said warmly, placing a hand on his shoulder._

_"You're home."_

Sora snapped out of the memory.

"Home…" he mused quietly to himself. After a while, Sora went out.

He met Kairi outside in the street; she'd been making her way towards his house, it seemed.

"Kairi! What a coincidence, I was just looking for you…" he said, walking over to Kairi. The girl looked surprised.

"That's odd… I came here to talk to you…" Sora cocked his head, puzzled. Something was trying to get his attention, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What about?"

"I had the strangest dream last night… You were in it, and Roxas and Namine as well…" she said, sounding unsure. Sora's memory of the dream clicked.

"That's right! I had that dream too!" Kairi looked worried.

"What do you suppose it means?"

"…I don't know." Sora admitted.

"Do you think we should ask Riku about it?"

"I don't see why not…" Sora said as they started walking towards Riku's house.

As they were walking, Kairi sighed.

"It was good to be back, but it seems so weird after all that happened… My parents couldn't believe the story until I showed them my keyblade…" she said glumly.

"Yeah… Same here…" Sora said.

_"But there's one thing I don't understand…where have you been this whole time?" Sora's father had asked. Sora sat down._

_"Mom, Dad…I've been going from world to world since that night two years ago…I met a lot of people out there. I've been trying to get home, but… I got pulled into a lot of things to try and stop more worlds from going through what happened here… I've been fighting almost nonstop since I left… since I've been chosen as the wielder of the Keyblade."_

_"Fighting nonstop? Keyblade? What do you mean?" Sora's mother said, her voice somewhere between alarm and skepticism._

_"Sora…" His father's voice had also been disbelieving. Sora didn't blame his parents at all, considering how it sounded. _

"Before you ask further…" Sora solemnly held up his hands, interrupting his father. The Keyblade, in its original form as the Kingdom Key, appeared. Both of his parents looked at it in amazement.

After trying and failing several times to speak, Sora's mother sat down.

"…Sora…" She said weakly. Sora saw his father watching him, his surprise giving way to a sort of curiosity.

"Please, son… tell us everything."

"Suffice to say, it was a long night of reminiscing…" Sora said. Kairi nodded.

"We're here."

It soon became apparent that Riku's house was empty; Sora rang the doorbell several times with no signs of response. Kairi silently noted the lights were out and the curtains were drawn; it was obvious nobody was in the house. Riku was gone, and his parents had likely gone to work just as Sora's did. Kairi and Sora thought for a moment.

"Perhaps he went back to that place he used to hang out at on the island?" She suggested.

"I guess that must be where he is… Come on." Sora said, walking towards the docks.

After-Light 

Xemnas and his Heartless walked through the radiant realm in which they'd emerged, surrounded by buildings that seemed to give off a light all their own.

"Interesting… I wonder what it is that exists here… this hardly seems like the afterlife of Heartless…" Xemnas commented. He glanced over at his Heartless.

"I don't like this place at all," the Seeker of Darkness growled.

"I'm shocked," Xemnas responded sarcastically.

"What do you want to find in here? This place is abhorrent to me. Let us leave here as soon as possible."

"Patience, "Ansem"… we shll explore this realm. We have all the time in the world, after all…" Xemnas said, brushing off the Heartless' anger. The two had long since left the ethereal expanses near the collapsed barrier behind them… Here, there were many buildings, each seemingly emitting their own light. The two soon made their way towards a more barren area. It was from there that Xemnas saw a large building in the distance, an attachment like a laboratory on the side of it, in the middle of the more unpopulated area. The two exchanged a glance, and walked towards it.

Not far behind them, Axel and Larxene moved as stealthily as they could after the Superior and his Heartless.

"This isn't good… The instant they turn around, they'll see us… Our cloaks are totally out of place here…" Axel commented. Larxene shook her head.

"There's too much light in this place… Our visibility is way down from not being used to it. Even with our cloaks, at this distance their chances of spotting us are practically nil. Still, keep close to the glowing buildings, and stay behind me." Larxene walked on for a minute.

"Not too close, mind you. You have no idea how annoying it was when you were practically hiding behind me on the plains."

"You have real personal space issues, you know that?" Axel grumbled, following Larxene.

"Shut up, Red." Larxene said good-naturedly.

Xemnas stopped in front of the building.

"Interesting… the design is reminiscent of the Gardens…Who lives here, I wonder?" Footsteps echoed through the air as Xemnas focused on the entrance to the building.

"That is none of your concern." A new voice rang out. Xemnas was the first to see the speaker walking down from the entrance to the building. Both Xemnas and the Heartless stared at him in shock.

"A… third!" Xemnas said, alarmed.

The new challenger was the Xehanort Ansem the Wise had spoken to a few minutes ago. He regarded his two look-alikes with a distinct look of distaste.

"Return to the realms you belong in. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE." He growled. Xemnas scoffed.

"There are two of us, and one of you. No, I think you will explain to us who you are and what this place is…" The Seeker of Darkness smirked at the threatening tone of Xemnas's voice. Xehanort, however, simply glared at the two.

"Anomalies in the After-Light are not to be tolerated… if you will not leave on your own… I shall DRIVE you away."

"How?" Xemnas asked, crossing his arms.

"With THIS." Both of Xehanort's "guests" stared in shock as a keyblade exploded forth into Xehanort's right outstretched hand.

The keyblade was mostly an angelic white. The shaft was mostly bronze, like Xehanort's armor, arranged in an upward spiral design, and ending in a small spear tip with the outer blades curved downward in a mixture of bronze and golden yellow. Near the top of the shaft just below the spear tip was a series of golden yellow spikes designed like arrow tips coming out of the back. The handguard was more elegantly shaped than the Kingdom Key's, taking on the shape of a large inverted crown at the tip along with several curved spikes at the corners of the dual handguard. The hilt also had a small crown-shaped hole near the crown at the crown on its hilt, from which a short keychain was attached, ending in a small spherical shape resembling the Cornerstone of Light. Most dangerous of all was the large semi-circle of snow white angel feathers designed for the teeth of the Keyblade, a gathering of enormous blades whose sharpness could only be guessed at, though their self-produced glow was enough to make one wary.

The keyblade's design made it seem a work of art, but it was clearly a dangerous weapon… Xehanort took his stance.

"Come, then," he said calmly. The other two glared angrily, and the Seeker of Darkness summoned his Demon Shadow, whilst Xemnas got ready with his two blades of nothingness.

The three sides of Xehanort lunged at each other as an epic battle began to unfold.


	4. Wrath of light

DISCLAIMER: This fanfic is made through a partnership with Regrem Erutaerc. He came up with a plot, and some outlines for some of the main scenes. I worked out these ideas into a story format, and he proofread afterwards. Essentially, it's a joint work, and we've both worked hard on this. ...Also, neither of us owns KH. Just the new characters and plotline. 

**Chapter 4**

Under the radiant sky of the After-Light, in front of Xehanort's research lab, the three sides of Xehanort stood. Xemnas wielding two crimson blades of light, the Seeker of Darkness acting puppet master over his Demon Shadow, and the new Xehanort brandishing his radiant Keyblade. Xemnas noticed Xehanort was smirking slightly.

_Even though he's outnumbered, the bastard thinks he can win…?_ Xemnas thought angrily, raising his swords and charging. Xehanort quickly raised his Keyblade to counter, and a flurry of sparks rained down as the radiant sword effortlessly deflected the two beam blades the Nobody wielded. Xemnas snarled, increasing the fury of his strikes.

As the two were distracted, Ansem rose up behind them.

"Take THIS!" he shouted, having his shadow lash out with its claws at the armored Xehanort. Seeing this, the Keyblade wielder _blurred_ suddenly, vanishing to the side impossibly fast. Xemnas had to jump back awkwardly.

"Idiot Heartless! You almost hit me with that!" he snarled.

"Shut up! This _third_ can move faster than either of us!" the Seeker of Darkness barked.

Xehanort smiled to himself. The other two wouldn't be able to work together very long. They were a poor team… If he could last long enough, they'd turn on one another, and he could win this fight.

"Not just faster than you… if either of you had took the time to study the light, you would have realized that there is _nothing_ that can move faster!"

Xehanort again glowed, and moved forward too fast for either enemy to follow, nicking both in the sides with his Keyblade. Ansem and Xemnas looked at their wounds, and then at Xehanort.

"What _are_ you?" Xemnas asked, furious at this new development.

"A chaser of the Light."

Ansem snarled.

"You'll soon find out relying on light to run from battle won't save you from the darkness!" He flew forward at considerable speed, an aura of dark energy acting as a shield between him and his target. Xehanort held up his Keyblade lengthwise, and the attack collided with the flat of the blade. Xehanort skidded back several feet. However, to Ansem's astonishment, he soon ground to a halt, stopping Ansem's attack dead.

"There was… no greater tragedy for us… than our foolishness when we turned from the light." Xehanort grunted, his arms shaking, but holding firm. "Your delusional obsession with your… respective elements… and negative generalizations about the heart… are the reason you'll never succeed!"

Xehanort glowed, but this time, Ansem and Xemnas felt it pushing _them_ instead of Xehanort.

"FAITH!" A supernova of light sent Ansem flying back, crying out in agony. Xemnas took a glancing blow from a stray ray of light, falling to one knee.

_How is he doing this? This sort of power should not be possible!_

Xehanort once more used the speed that he'd previously displayed, dashing over to Xemnas and slashing his chest with the Keyblade. He zipped away as Xemnas counterattacked. Xemnas noticed something as Xehanort came to a stop out of range; his eyes narrowed.

"Get up, Heartless. Our new acquaintance may not be as invulnerable as he's led us to believe," he said to the fallen Ansem. Ansem got up, his expression furious.

"Let me at him! That cheap trick won't fool me again!" Ansem snarled, "He just runs away, and then uses that burst if we get close."

"Once again, it seems you neglect the possibility that you're not all-knowing on the subject," Xemnas said, silencing Ansem, "He glows while running. He stopped glowing when he attacked me… He cannot fight and use that 'speed of light' at the same time. Harry him, so that he has to fight one of us whenever he tries running." Ansem glared at Xemnas.

"Be careful how you address orders, _Nobody_. I'm not one of your pitiful followers." He then shot towards Xehanort again. Xehanort, however, did not run back, once again choosing to parry the technique. As Ansem began drawing back, he raised his free hand.

"BINDING LIGHT!" A web of light enmeshed Ansem, who cried out in anger and surprise. Xehanort again glowed, and rushed Xemnas. This time, the Superior was ready, jumping back when he felt that Xehanort would break his speed spell to strike. He parried Xehanort's attack, forcing him back. However, to his surprise, Xehanort did an impressive backflip, landing gracefully and launching himself at his Nobody.

"Ars Sanctus!" he shouted, his Keyblade glowing again. Xemnas had been unprepared for the devastating series of attacks Xehanort released, flying back and skidding several yards away on his back from the rapid series of strikes.

Axel and Larxene were watching the fight from a safe distance, both confused and more than a little alarmed.

"What's going on?" Larxene asked worriedly, while Xemnas got up, furious. "There shouldn't be a third form of him… What is he?"

"I dunno," Axel said, shaking his head as the Seeker of Darkness freed himself and charged Xehanort again. "Three of the same guy fighting… Geez, how existential can you _get_?"

Xehanort was unable to dodge his Heartless's attack this time. He flew back, but righted himself again. "Ansem," he snarled.

"Arrogant little… How did you get this powerful?"

"I won't tell you. You wouldn't be able to accept it," Xehanort replied, "Now… LIGHT BOLT!" Xehanort shot a series of very fast-moving light blasts at his Heartless from the tip of his Keyblade, but Ansem was prepared this time.

"Come, Guardian!" The Demon Shadow appeared in front of Ansem, absorbing the bolts of light. Xehanort waited for the Heartless Guardian to recede.

Xehanort put away his Keyblade as he brought up his fists. "How about this? CHASING LIGHTS!" Xehanort opened his hands, and ten orbs of light suddenly appeared around Ansem and Xemnas. The two quickly jumped back, but the lights followed them.

"What are these?" Xemnas snarled.

"Who knows? They can't be good for us!" Ansem shouted. Xehanort suddenly closed his fists, and the orbs exploded. Xemnas heard Xehanort's voice, although the dust raised by the explosion obscured his vision.

"Cross… RAID!" Xemnas saw Xehanort's keyblade spiral out of nowhere, striking him squarely in the chest and sending him flying back again. Xehanort then made a motion towards Ansem, who also felt the blade tear through his side with an infuriated look in his eyes.

"Now to finish you…" Xehanort jumped back and fired two Light Bolts at his enemies. Normally, they wouldn't have been a problem, but with their high speed and the low visibility in the After-Light, both were again struck.

Although Xehanort fought alone, he was dominating the battle…

Xemnas got up, panting. This scenario didn't agree with him at all... the new Xehanort was much more powerful than either of them, based on this exchange... and he wasn't sure that he could work together with the Seeker of Darkness. He couldn't trust the Heartless... but then again, they would both die if they kept fighting separately.

"Ansem!" Xemnas shouted. "This is getting us nowhere! We need to work together if we want to live through this!" The Seeker of Darkness, at first glaring at Xehanort, turned to Xemnas, finally nodding.

"For once, you may be right, Nobody." He said. His Demon Shadow's focus remained on Xehanort, who was quickly retaking his stance and raising his Keyblade for more lasers.

"He's about to attack. Follow my lead." Ansem said shortly. Xehanort quickly fired, seeing both his counterparts on their feet again. Ansem smirked.

"COME GUARDIAN!" He shouted, and the Demon shadow appeared to intercept the bolts. Xehanort's free hand glowed; it looked like he was trying to guide his lasers, but they were moving too fast, and smashed harmlessly into the Demon shadow.

Xemnas quickly jumped into the air, summoning his blades again. Ansem appeared below him and pushed the Nobody upwards, sending him flying towards Xehanort. The two exchanged blows at lightning speeds, but Xemnas managed to nick Xehanort in the side before the Keyblade struck him several times in retaliation. Xehanort kicked the reeling Xemnas away.

"Not invincible after all..." Ansem said, appearing behind him. "Now... SUBMIT!"

The Demon Shadow grabbed Xehanort, holding him up. Both Ansem and Xemnas appeared in front of him, charging up blasts of Darkness and Nothing. Xehanort gritted his teeth.

"I wasn't expecting you two to put aside your differences long enough... but this still isn't over." His eyes glowed the instant his enemies unleashed their attacks. "FAITH!" A burst of blinding light broke the Demon Shadow's grip on him, while simultaneously turning aside both attacks.

Both Xemnas and Ansem fell back, dazed by the blinding flash. After a moment, Ansem's blurry vision finally allowed him to catch sight of Xehanort directly over them, his Keyblade's tip pointed at them.

"BINDING OF LIGHT!" He shouted, and a web of light enmeshed Xemnas and Ansem. Xehanort altered his grip on his keyblade as he fell towards his struggling counterparts. "Cross Raid!" He flung his keyblade at Xemnas, who was unable to defend himself as it cut into his side. The blade spun, catching Ansem in the arm, back into Xehanort's hands, who quickly dropped down and slashed the Seeker of Darkness. He then brought back his glowing Keyblade. "ARS SANCTUS!" He shouted, cutting both of them out of the bindings and holding them in the air with an incredibly fast series of cuts. The last strike sent the two spiraling back.

Ansem righted himself first, landing not far from Xehanort.

"DAMMIT! Does nothing have any effect on that man?" Xemnas, breathing heavily, alighted next to him, glancing from Xehanort to Ansem.

"He's strong... stronger than either of us... but he's been wounded. He's not invincible... there's no way he can keep this up forever..." Xehanort took his stance.

"Never underestimate the idea that you may be dead wrong." He said.

"Arrogant..." Xemnas and Ansem exchanged a look. "NOW!" Both shouted. Ansem sank into the ground, and Xemnas teleported.

The two appeared either side of Xehanort and striking him, Ansem with his Demon Shadow's claws and Xemnas with his two swords. With astonishing reaction time, Xehanort knocked aside Xemnas's swords and blocked the Demon Shadow's claws, taking several light cuts as the Heartless attempted to press past his sword. The three fought an intense and close battle like this for a time, but Xehanort finally caught Xemnas off guard and kicked off his chest, spinning like a drill to shatter Ansem's attempts to box him in. Xehanort landed behind the two.

"This has gone far enough..." He dragged his Keyblade along the ground, finally bringing it up with considerable force. "UPHEAVAL SLASH!" Several massive columns of explosive light energy shot out in an array of lines from where he slashed.Both Ansem and Xemnas were caught by the pillars, Ansem hit directly from below, and Xemnas was struck from behind as one exploded upwards behind him.

Soon after, Xemnas and Ansem redoubled their efforts against their Keybearing counterpart. Xehanort remained nearly untouchable as Xemnas and Ansem joined forces against him. Xemnas managed to clip him once or twice with his swords, and the Demon Shadow persistantly attempted to rake Xehanort with its claws.

Xehanort kept both his enemies at bay with his sword and lasers, but it was clear that he was not giving it his all. He seemed to be very carefully monitoring how Xemnas and Ansem worked together, especially as he dodged their synchronized attacks and caused them to strike each other. _They can't work together long..._ he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Xehanort knocked both his doubles down and jumped, landing further back. "It's time to finish this."

Xemnas and Ansem both got up, battered by Xehanort's attacks.

"What...is...he...doing?" Xemnas rasped, breathing heavily.

"I don't know... Get ready!" Xehanort began to spin, bringing his Keyblade against the ground, dragging it along. He completed the spin, dragging the blade into an upward slash. Suddenly, many feathers, like the ones that made up the teeth of his Keyblade, were launched from it into the sky. Xehanort took a two-handed grip on the Keyblade, its glow briefly widening as he directed it towards the upheaval of feathers.

He then fired a massive beam from the tip of the Keyblade. It was absorbed by the feathers, which each glowed brightly for several moments, humming with absorbed energy. Xemnas and Ansem's eyes widened.

"Oh, no..." Ansem and Xemnas immediately gathered their power.

"COME GUARDIAN!"

"GUARD!"

The feathers glowed their brightest as the beam ended, unleashing hundreds of smaller beams towards the two combatants. The Heartless and Nothing Barrier both absorbed the attacks for a short time, but soon... they were overwhelmed. For a brief moment, the blasts made Xemnas and Ansem impossible to see. When the light cleared, the two were kneeling on the ground, battered and badly wounded. Xemnas's swords and Ansem's guardian were both gone.

"Grgh... I hadn't expected things to go this far..." Xemnas said.

"Holding back now is suicide. He said it himself," the Seeker of Darkness replied, getting up. _"Let's finish this."_

Ansem spread his arms, and the light that filled the area seemed to dim. His Demon Shadow reappeared behind him.

Both Heartless's bodies grew dark, and grew slightly in stature as the shadows enveloped them both into a cocoon of shadow, slimming back down onto Ansem's lithe form. The shadows peeled off of Ansem's body, revealing his transformation, the same form he took when battling Sora in the abyss. His coat had apparently combined with his pants; Ansem's legs were in synthetic-looking black and gold armor. However, the true transformation seemed to be taking place behind him as the shadows took form after peeling off of Ansem…

The shadows joined together as they grew into a monstrous form, an inhuman cackle escaping from it. Finally, in a shockwave of power, the new Demon Shadow revealed its form. The creature was now massive, and blues and reds had joined the original black. The thing now had massive shoulders and a horned, doglike head. The same glowing yellow eyes burned in its sockets and on the upper birdlike eyes on its chest as it revealed two rows of blue fangs within its blackened face. Despite its bestial appearance, it also sported an array of sharp bones for its lower rib cage and its claws. Ansem chuckled darkly as his new guardian bared its teeth at Xehanort, summoning the double-bladed, lance-like form of Soul Eater he had formerly used against Sora.

While Xehanort took a step back, regarding this new threat, Xemnas quickly gathered power as well. A blinding white and black aura briefly encircled him; a dead, blank color compared to the golden light surrounding him. As the aura cleared, Xemnas became visible again, now with jagged white streaks running through his now white and black trench coat; the form he'd taken prior to his own death at Sora and Riku's hands.

"This should even the odds…" Xemnas commented sardonically. Xehanort's eyes narrowed.

"So you bare your full strength already…"

"Enough talk." The Seeker of Darkness interrupted. "Let's get this over with." His guardian reared up, and Ansem shot forward, hovering over the ground with much greater speed than he'd previously been capable of. Xehanort quickly raised his Keyblade, staving off several attacks before Ansem's weapon clipped his side, knocking him into the range of the guardian's deadly claws. Xehanort took several strong blows, but then righted himself.

"Even this won't overcome my light!" He said, glowing and dashing away from the guardian's next attack. Ansem laughed.

"You may be able to run as fast as light itself, but you can't fight at that speed. You'll make a mistake soon enough, and then, you're finished!" Xemnas walked over.

"You may be content to wait, Heartless, but I prefer to get things done _quickly!_" Xemnas launched himself into the air, sending a massive swarm of Nothing Bolts at Xehanort, attempting to trap him within them. To his chagrin, Xehanort dodged through the gaps quickly, making his way towards Xemnas, and breaking his light speed as he entered striking distance.

However, Xemnas easily blocked the attack, and Xehanort heard a whistling behind him. He pushed hard, launching away from Xemnas to evade Ansem's guardian, which snatched at empty air with a howl of frustration. However, a second Xemnas appeared behind Xehanort and slashed at his back with both swords.

"Urgh!" Xehanort grunted, pointing his Keyblade at the clone, which zoomed away as he shot a laser at it.

Xemnas, his double, and the Seeker of Darkness all shared a smirk. Their full power, it seems, had broken Xehanort's dominance. They all quickly charged.

As light, darkness, and nothingness met once more in battle, Axel and Larxene watched from a distance.

"Geez… I've never seen anything like this before…" Axel said nervously. He still didn't understand who or what the Keybearing third form of Xehanort was, but he was aware that he was extremely powerful to still be holding up against these attacks, despite losing the one-sided advantage he previously held.

"This guy is powerful… very powerful." Larxene said quietly. "If he turns this around, and kills the Superior… do you think he'll come after us?" She looked worriedly at the fight, observing that Xehanort was able to move quickly and easily around the larger attacks of his enemies, unable to mount an attack. Xemnas and the Seeker of Darkness seemed to be favoring energy based strikes, keeping the super-fast Xehanort at bay. Xehanort seemed frustrated, as the two attacked in unison before he could make a slash.

Axel was inwardly surprised. Larxene, in life, had been fairly cruel, with a love of violence that had sometimes alarmed him. He'd suspected she would express something akin to delight at watching the bloody fight unfold, but she didn't seem to enjoy the bloodshed at all… she was scared. Then again, watching Xehanort's own Heartless use his guardian to slash at himself, or Xemnas teleporting around, firing huge clusters of blasts at Xehanort…Axel was scared too, but he was reluctant to show it. The fact Larxene was showing her fear drove the gravity of the scenario home quite well.

_How much has death changed you, Larx'…?_ He thought to himself. He shook his head, not letting Larxene have any hint of his thoughts.

"I don't care who wins. This is way too dangerous…" He thought briefly. "If their fight grows, or someone wins and starts looking around, we run for it."

Larxene suddenly stiffened.

"Get down! I hear footsteps!"

Moments later, Ansem the Wise walked around the corner, still not quite in range to realize the fight was going on, but almost entering the same area as Larxene and Axel. The two Nobodies reacted on instinct, Axel quickly grabbing the sage while Larxene came up behind and put a hand over his mouth.

"Don't shout." She breathed in his ear quietly. Ansem the Wise glared, but was quiet as Larxene removed her hand.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked quietly but angrily.

"The Superior and his Heartless teamed up and broke in here. We followed them." Axel explained, whispering urgently. "They're fighting some third form of them now, one with a Keyblade! This spot is getting too dangerous!"

"What?" Ansem replied. "The Heartless and Nobody survived?"

"Funny world, isn't it?" Larxene broke in impatiently. "We have to get back, fast!"

"I can't just let those two move unimpeded!" Ansem said.

"You want to walk in on that fight?" Larxene pointed towards the fight around the corner, causing Ansem to look and see the ferocity of the battle unfolding before them, Xehanort frequently using his Light Sprint to hold off his opponents' attacks. "I'd rather _live_, thank you very much." Larxene snapped. Ansem looked like he was about to say something, but then nodded. He looked at the three warring sides of his student, looking worried as the Keybearer took a heavy blow from the Heartless, barely holding off Xemnas. He recovered after a moment, ensnaring Xemnas's double as he fired several blasts at him, before Light Sprinting away from the Seeker of Darkness.

"You're right. This situation is out of my hands." He followed the two Nobodies back to their hiding spot, still glaring at their backs with an expression of intense dislike.

Back at the fight, Xemnas reveled at the power flowing through him. Even though he'd been defeated and sent here, he seemed to have retained the power he absorbed from Kingdom Hearts. This "chaser" was no match for him now.

_In fact… this fight is in my favor so much… _Xemnas glanced at Ansem as he charged up a beam to shoot at Xehanort. _Perhaps now is the time to get rid of any useless baggage!_

Xehanort light dashed suddenly, getting out of Xemnas's range. The nobody swore under his breath and began to realign his attack when a heavy blow struck him from behind.

"Ugh!" He grunted, slammed into the ground by the massive fist of the Seeker of Darkness's guardian.

"You've served your purpose. I don't need you any longer." The false Ansem laughed, turning his attentions back to Xehanort. However, he was caught off guard when Xemnas's clone teleported in front of him and struck him with a shower of energy blasts at point-blank range.

"My sentiments exactly." The Superior snarled at his former partner, jumping at the guardian behind Ansem with his blades extended.

The fight devolved quickly into an almighty free-for-all. Xehanort dashed in and out of range, laying waste with his Keyblade and light energy, while Xemnas and "Ansem" sped around above the ground, unleashing massive blasts at Xehanort and each other.

The fight remained even; alliances as temporary as a spark in the night were forged and broken between the combatants. Xemnas and Xehanort, exchanging glares of mutual loathing, worked grudgingly together on several occasions, the Nobody sending out Nothing Bolts to entangle the slow moving Heartless the Seeker of Darkness was bound to while the Chaser raced across this temporary bridge to attack his own Heartless repeatedly. But mere moments later, Xemnas and Xehanort were at each other's throats again, while the copy Xemnas held off the Seeker of Darkness.

Eventually, the combatants were all bloody and wounded. Xemnas, panting furiously, rose into the air.

"I've had far enough of this game! DIE!" He shouted, forming a massive dome of lasers over Xehanort and his Heartless form. The two looked at the huge attack, and then at each other.

"I'll kill you after I'm done with him." The Heartless snarled.

"You'll try, abomination." Xehanort replied, and the dome began to fire.

Xehanort dodged and blocked to his best ability, personally giving thanks for the small blessing the Heartless behind him couldn't betray him without being killed in this rain of blasts.

After an eternity of blocking the deadly energy, Xemnas's attack was exhausted. The Seeker of Darkness glared up at him.

"That settles it. You die first!" He said. Xemnas smiled.

"You still have to make sure it's the right me." The Heartless suddenly looked down to see the Xemnas copy had come up from beneath him. The two fought fast and desperately in close quarters.

"Guardian!" the Heartless shouted to his companion. It extended a massive arm in Xehanort's direction. Xehanort quickly jumped onto the hand, which threw him up at Xemnas. The Superior was unprepared for a sudden assault, taking several hits before he could unleash a burst of energy to send Xehanort flying back to the ground.

As Xehanort landed, Xemnas came down to ground level. The Seeker of Darkness turned as well, shooting a blast at Xehanort without warning.

"Change of plans; I'll get rid of you first!" the Heartless shouted. Xehanort dodged, but saw Xemnas's double closing in for an attack.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted. In a supernova of light, his Keyblade cut the phantom Nobody in half. The two pieces dissolved into light.

From their hiding place, Axel scooted back in spite of himself.

"Damn. Those three are monsters…" He glanced at the three sides of Xehanort, each glaring at the other two to try and predict the next attack. "They all look near ready to drop dead from all those wounds… but…" Axel shuddered. "I feel really uneasy…"

"I've got a very bad feeling about this, Axel." Larxene said worriedly. "They're all wounded and desperate. Who knows how big their next attack will be?"

Ansem the Wise, although he shared the two Nobodies' foreboding, kept his opinion to himself.


	5. Birth Of Chaos

DISCLAIMER: This fanfic is made through a partnership with Regrem Erutaerc. He came up with a plot, and some outlines for some of the main scenes. I worked out these ideas into a story format, and he proofread afterwards. Essentially, it's a joint work, and we've both worked hard on this. ...Also, neither of us owns KH. Just the new characters and plotline. Chapter 5 

The battle between the three Xehanorts continued before Axel, Larxene, and Ansem's disbelieving eyes. The Heartless, Nobody, and Keybearer were all bloodied and increasingly desperate as their free-for-all prolonged the stalemate between their immense powers.

Xehanort winced as he dodged a sudden attack from Xemnas, one of his shoulder pads absorbing the blow. He hadn't expected the fight to take such a toll on his strength; individually, he suspected he could overpower either of his counterparts, but the disorganized melee was keeping him from being able to turn the tables on his opponents. Gritting his teeth, he once again used his Light Sprint to put some distance between himself and his enemies at the speed of light.

Xemnas growled, before noticing a large shadow falling over him. He barely teleported away before the claw of his Heartless's giant guardian struck the ground he'd been standing on. The Seeker of Darkness snarled in frustration.

"Hold _still_, damn you! Once I've killed both of you, I can leave this accursed light!"

Xehanort's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you're leaving all right…" He growled, holding out his keyblade. "Photon… _rush!_"

Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody looked up, but by the time the sentence was finished, they were already far too late to prepare a defense. Xehanort, holding his keyblade before him, abruptly seemed to vanish from sight. Both of the remaining combatants abruptly felt themselves struck again and again and again by the razor-sharp feathers' edge that topped Xehanort's Keyblade. Xemnas, barely able to see from pain as he felt the blade stab through his side, realized there was a thin tendril of light that struck him and Xehanort's Heartless before they felt the pain. The attacks continued to come.

_But to stab like this…_ Xemnas finally came to a very unpleasant conclusion.

_I miscalculated…he _does_ have an attack that moves as fast as light!_

Xehanort came back into existence a moment later, flicking off the blood that coated the wicked edges on his Keyblade's feather teeth. The pause cost him, however, as his Heartless recovered more quickly than his Nobody and struck him a powerful blow with his guardian, sending him flying. Xehanort's Heartless quickly spun, expecting an attack from Xemnas, recovering some distance away, when he heard Xehanort shout.

"Cross Raid!" The Keyblade whirled like a boomerang as Xehanort threw it, tearing into the Seeker of Darkness painfully. The attack, however, was not done. Xehanort's Heartless realized he was being dragged towards Xemnas, who also took several blows before the Keyblade teleported back to Xehanort. Xehanort lost no time pointing the tip of the blade at his counterparts and firing two blasts of light at them. Even as the attacks hit, he sprinted in at the speed of light, doing a large slash to take advantage of the proximity of his stunned enemies. Before Xemnas or the Heartless could retaliate, he was already out of range, a confident smile once more on his face.

Xemnas reacted more quickly than his heartless, flying forward and peppering Xehanort with energy blasts, most of which were deflected. However, in blocking them, Xehanort was unable to Light Sprint away when Xemnas closed the distance, extending his blades again and summoning another clone. Xehanort fought defensively, holding off both Xemnas while keeping a wary eye on the recovering Seeker of Darkness. The Heartless rejoined the fray soon enough, savagely attacking Xemnas's real body and driving him away from Xehanort and his clone, who continued trading blows with great speed and skill.

Xehanort, seeing that the clone was giving Xemnas too much of an advantage in the fight, backflipped away from it and jumped incredibly high in the air. A shockwave shot out from his launch point, stunning the clone. After reaching a high altitude, Xehanort descended rapidly while building up power and holding his Keyblade in front of him.

As the blade stabbed into the ground, the impact created a huge explosion, throwing out yet another shockwave of light. Xemnas's damaged copy was thrown disoriented into the air, and Xehanort cut it to pieces with little effort.

Xehanort's Heartless, having had his back to the fight between Xehanort and Xemnas's double, took the shockwave in the back. Growling angrily, his guardian turned and shot a blast of darkness at Xehanort, catching him off guard and throwing him to the ground. Xemnas, not one to miss an opportunity, shot a blast into the Heartless' faces, and teleported while they were crying out in pain and rage to stab both of his swords into Xehanort's armored shoulders before he could get up.

"Argh!" Xehanort looked over and saw he was bleeding from his less armored shoulder. As Xemnas withdrew his swords to slash again, Xehanort suddenly grabbed his wrists and head butted him with a sickening _crack_.

Xemnas went cross-eyed from the impact, but Xehanort smashed their skulls together three more times before savagely kicking Xemnas in the stomach, launching him away at high velocity. The Seeker of Darkness's guardian stopped his flight quickly by backhanding him with immense strength, sending him into a tiny crater at the end of a small furrow.

Even as Xehanort's Heartless laughed, Xehanort barreled into him, slashing him several times before jumping away from the Demon Shadow's flailing claws.

"Armageddon!" He said, hovering up into the air, holding his Keyblade with its tip pointed at his opponent's face. Twenty feathers broke off of the teeth of his Keyblade, transforming into golden crystals of light before zooming into Xehanort's Heartless and his guardian, sending both of them flying. Xehanort slowly came down to ground level.

"You can't beat me," He said, watching his counterparts get up, "The light is beyond Darkness or Nothing's grip."

"Shut… _UP_!" Xemnas growled, charging Xehanort unexpectedly and slashing at him. Xehanort's Heartless joined in, and soon explosions flew everywhere once more.

From their position not far away, Axel, Larxene, and Ansem the Wise crouched, watching the fight.

"I don't know where they're getting this power from… There's no way anyone from the Organization could keep up with those three for a fraction of the time they've been at it…" Axel muttered, "They're gonna tear this whole place apart if they don't finish each other soon…"

"I think that may already be happening," Larxene said worriedly. Axel looked at her in confusion. "Look! Not at the fight, but at what's happening to this place!"

Axel's eyes widened as he saw the energies scattering from Xehanort's three sides were indeed changing the very landscape. The formerly light-obscured floor had become transparent, and unnoticed by the combatants, a whitish-grey sphere was drawing in Nothing energy scattered by Xemnas. Dark mist began to form below the ambient light of the After-Light, and the sky had darkened noticeably. Around the changing battlefield, the light began to take form as well, becoming a vast web of interconnected light strings, with orbs of focused light between the threads. This huge, beautifully complex web surrounded the battle in thin nets of pure light. Ansem, Larxene, and Axel noticed that light and dark tendrils were beginning to form everywhere, canceling each other out often, or being scattered by Nothing energy. The field no longer held just light… It was devolving into a primordial chaos of conflicting energies. Ansem felt an inexplicable dread develop in his stomach.

All three ducked as a stray blast whizzed overhead, exploding massively.

"This place is fast becoming too dangerous for any of us. This needs to stop!" Ansem said, putting aside his dislike for the two Nobodies for the moment. "If you can't use your abilities to stop this fight, we at least need to draw back before they kill us by accident."

"First good idea I've heard all day!" Larxene snapped, dragging Axel aside as a feather from Xehanort's Keyblade tore through the spot his head had been a second ago. As the three observers escaped, the Demon Shadow and Xehanort's Heartless plowed through the abandoned shelter, pursuing Xemnas, who agilely evaded the Heartless' attacks.

Xehanort paused. He could have sworn he just saw some movement…

His eyes widened as he remembered.

_Master Ansem is exploring this area! I've got to warn-_

Unfortunately, Xemnas, taking advantage of his distraction, peppered Xehanort with energy blasts, forcing him back into the fray.

Xehanort gritted his teeth as Xemnas's attacks took their toll on his armor, and focused on his light energy. Abruptly, a powerful golden aura began to form around his body, and he lunged quickly through the air, counterattacking Xemnas with renewed vigor. However, this time, the aura seemed to have improved Xehanort's attacks; with each blow he struck, a small burst of energy feathers only a foot or two in diameter followed. While the energy feathers did little damage compared to the wicked edged metal feathers on the Keyblade itself, Xemnas flew back quickly in the face of the increased damage of Xehanort's empowered attacks.

The already chaotic battlefield slowly went to hell as Xehanort and his two evil counterparts fought more and more fiercely. The Seeker of Darkness soon began noticing that orbs of light fell at random as Xehanort whirled around the battlefield, causing his Guardian immense annoyance, but little trouble to the more agile Xemnas.

Similarly, Xehanort noticed the power being rampantly released by the combatants. As he dodged one of Xemnas's blades, he was met with a kick in the face, a trail of the same kind of energy following his foot. As Xehanort began to land on his feet, a portal of nothingness opened up, depositing many weak but widely spread Nothing Bolts onto the surprised Chaser.

_Is Xemnas even aware of what his energy is…?_ Xehanort finally noticed the orbs of light he was unconsciously forming, and saw that his Heartless was doing something very similar a moment later, when a blast of crimson lighting came out of nowhere, nearly striking him and then Xemnas soon after.

_Our energy is having a distinctly larger effect than I'd anticipated… I only hope the After-Light can handle it. If Rale-Lieu and the others take notice, they'll come. While I'd have no reservations handing these two off to them, I'd need time to hide Master Ansem! I need to hope this stays secret a while longer._

Xemnas had also taken note of the random attacks happening due to the power running wild across the battlefield, and made a beeline for the Seeker of Darkness as his Nothing Bolts prevented Xehanort from dodging another bolt of lightning. Unfortunately for Xemnas, he realized too late Ansem's lightning was widespread, and took a bolt in the back before the Seeker of Darkness summoned several dark Glyphs that pelted him with lasers.

Xemnas recovered quickly, opening one hand and covering his Heartless with Nothing Bolts, considerably more powerful than the random blasts of Bolts harassing Xehanort. Ansem responded by sinking into the ground, shaking off the bolts, and then throwing a variety of dark energy disks at Xemnas.

As The Superior flew off, taking several more bolts of red lightning and a few orbs of light in the process, Xehanort finally shook off the Nothing Bolts and Light Sprinted at his Heartless, taking him out of the ground with a few slashes.

"Ars Sanctus!" Xehanort quickly struck a variety of light-enhanced hits against his Heartless, but was knocked away when the Seeker of Darkness fired a spread of shots from his lance, followed up by his Demon Shadow sending out several columns of dark energy.

Xehanort was forced to do a variety of impressive flips through the air to evade the powerful attacks raining everywhere, but was stopped cold by Xemnas, who had recovered from the Heartless's earlier attacks.

Now encased in a damaging orb of energy, Xemnas shot around the field, firing powerful blasts in every direction, harming both Xehanort and Ansem. Finally, roaring in frustration as Xemnas's bolts devastated, the Heartless countered with a powerful attack of his own.

Both Xehanort and his Nobody were again on the defensive as the Heartless fired a huge orb of darkness, which sent out a great many fast, random blasts of dark energy and slower, homing blasts to hem in the two. Finally, the orb exploded, hitting both Xehanort and Xemnas hard as Ansem laughed.

Xehanort got up slowly, breathing heavily. All bets were off now; he'd need to up his game to fight off his enemies. He heard Xemnas trying to come in behind him, but was ready this time.

"Binding of light." A web of light dragged Xemnas to the ground, where several of the passive light orbs and dark lightning hit him. Seeing Xemnas temporarily out of action, Xehnanort quickly leapt into the air to go head to head with his Heartless.

"Holy Circles!" Xehanort said under his breath, spinning once in the air. A circle of Light orbs formed around him as he got closer to his Heartless, and then suddenly fired quickly, each orb moving in a straight line from its point of origin. One hit Xemnas's prone form, and many simply detonated in midair with no targets. However, six of the orbs scythed into the Heartless with devastating effect; The Seeker of Darkness took four powerful blows, while his large guardian was struck by two more blasts due to its size and outstretched arms.

As Ansem stopped reeling and prepared to counter, Xehanort hit the ground fast and Light Sprinted behind him.

"Upheaval Slash!" He said, dragging his keyblade along the ground to send a wave of columns of light at the Seeker of Darkness.

Larxene, Axel, and Ansem were surprised at Xehanort's sudden burst of energy. Soon, however all three Xehanorts had fatally upped the Ante. Axel noticed Xehanort had to Light Sprint almost constantly to keep out of the way of his Heartless's dark attacks, while Xemnas was forced to teleport and guard far more often as Xehanort combined his advanced techniques with his unending torrent of light bolts and simpler, fast attacks like the Ars Sanctus. Larxene observed that the fake Ansem frequently sank into the ground, attempting to overcome his speed disadvantage by tripping up his opponents with ground based dark attacks.

"They're not tiring at all. They've been trying to kill one another from the beginning, but they're sprinting towards their limits…" Axel was sweating, despite his forced nonchalant tone. "This is… intense. Really intense…" Axel ran a hand through his hair nervously. "They're nuts. All three of 'em!"

Larxene nodded nervously, seeing Xehanort Cross Raid his counterparts before pinning them down with another web of light and pelting them with Light Bolts. "Somebody's going to crack soon. They can't keep this up… but I'm getting a feeling we don't want to be here when this hits the fan." Larxene noticed the intensity of Ansem the Wise's face. "What's eating you, old man? You scared?"

"Typical of a Nobody to discuss a matter of life and death as though it were sport," Ansem said scornfully, "My apprentice is fighting for his life down there. I can only rage at my own helplessness… but you two would know nothing about that, would you…" Shooting the two of them a look of loathing, Ansem turned back to watching Xehanort, now being attacked by his Heartless from below, and his Nobody from above.

Xehanort fell to one knee, cracks appearing in his armor where he'd been hit. He was aware that he'd underestimated the abilities of his counterparts. He didn't know how much more they had left, but he knew he should finish it as quickly as he could. He'd been far more wounded than he'd expected.

"I need to finish this now… before anyone else is dragged into this!" He growled. He glared at the two intruders.

"Disappear!" Charging up his keyblade, he stabbed it into the ground.

There was an explosion of light as the keyhole formed on the ground. A huge pillar of energy flew up around it, as Xehanort removed his keyblade and sprang back.

"Oh, not another one…" Axel muttered from the new hiding place, seeing the Seeker of Darkness and the Superior shared his feelings.

The column began pulsing randomly. The first pulse threw out three pillars of light that raced eagerly at Xehanort's foes, but they were blocked. However, the second shot out ten columns that closed in a random pattern. As Xemnas tried to dodge, Xehanort appeared behind him.

"There's no getting away this time!" He said, kicking his evil counterpart into the light. Xehanort's Heartless fared little better, being unable to dodge due to the size of the slow Heartless he was tethered to.

"Whoa," Larxene leaned in, "I've never seen an attack like this…"

Ansem, watching Xehanort savagely attack his enemies while the random and deceptively fast moving light bursts punished them, allowed himself to hope Xehanort had just ended the battle.

Eventually, however, the pillar died down. Xemnas and Xehanort's Heartless glared up at the Chaser levitating above them, and released a desperate burst of combined energy, striking him out of the air.

Xehanort hit the ground hard. He was wounded and tired from the energy his attack had consumed, although he took satisfaction seeing that Xemnas could barely stand, and the Seeker of Darkness was leaning on his weapon for support.

"This isn't… No…" Xemnas rasped weakly, raw disbelief in his face, "I can't lose again…" His eyes glowed slightly as his features hardened. "No… I will _not _allow another Keybearer to slay me!"

Both Xehanort and his Heartless felt the huge upsurge of power from Xemnas, and realized simultaneously he was putting his entire reserve of power into one massive strike.

_He's turned it into an all or nothing attack! If I don't stop that blast, he'll kill all of us!_

Both remaining Xehanorts came to the same conclusion. Darkness and Light exploded from their bodies as each charged up.

Xehanort held out his Keyblade. White and blue light raced along it, and a faint, sea green energy drifted off of it like mist, occasionally containing golden sparks of energy along with it. The Keyblade became so bright with the blue, white, green, and gold mixing that it became painful to look at. Sweat beaded on Xehanort's brow as this power built, his intent to protect felt fiercely from the light's holy glow.

A similar reaction was taking place with his counterparts. Xehanort's Heartless and his Guardian held out their hands. An orb of predominantly black energy with random flares of blood red, dark orange, or purple energy formed, soon growing to massive size and seeming to strain, as though it desired to be released with its user's desire to kill felt as fully as the dark he wielded.

Xemnas also put his hands together, and energy began flowing from his back and the rest of his body into his hands. Black, grey, and white Nothing bolts began forming into a loosely held together sphere of power, and Xemnas's energy blasts, both his red beams and the almost clear blue energy used for his shields came together inside this boundary. The different attacks mixed together, growing to equal the size of his counterparts'. With all his might, Xemnas intended to win this onslaught.

The field went utterly silent aside from the humming of power. Ansem, Axel, and Larxene didn't even dare to breathe.

And then… the blasts were loose.

There was a deafening roar as the three attacks struck each other, scattering random sparks of all three energies in every direction. Each fighter gritted his teeth, trying to force their attack forward. For a long time, there was a terrible sound of the fundamental energies no longer held in check pressing against each other, which sounded to Axel like planets colliding and slowly crushing each other to dust. However, none of them noticed the conflict was changing.

While Xehanort and Ansem's blasts were still striving against each other, slowly but surely, Xemnas' Nothing blast ceased grinding against the attacks. In fact, it began mixing with light and darkness, entering them and very slowly forcing the conflicting elements together.

After what felt like days of the blasts striving for victory, Nothingness slowly entering and combining both Light and Darkness, a terrible change came over the meeting point of the blasts. It began to become a large sphere of all three energies, which were now mixing in a way never before seen. As Ansem the Wise and the others noted this change with growing fear, the roar of the attacks meeting took on an almost _hungry_ edge. The orb expanded in all three directions, absorbing more and more energy, but all three Xehanorts were so caught up in the life-or-death struggle that they couldn't take notice.

Xehanort suddenly looked down, feeling something strange. His eyes widened as he noticed the light dimming, and the dark mists and tendrils of light and nothing were being drawn towards the blast. The web of light formerly surrounding the fight was coming apart and entering the meeting point as though pulled by a vacuum of air, and the Nothing energy formerly being absorbed by the white sphere visible beneath the floor was now being drawn up into the orb of conflicting energy. Finally, the monstrous orb became visible over the blasts, and Xehanort's expression changed to one of complete horror as he saw the combination of Light, Dark, and Nothing.

"NO!" He quickly attempted to pry his Keyblade aside, but he realized to his horror he was unable to move. Watching his counterparts' faces, he noticed Xemnas and then his Heartless adopted expressions of panic as they realized they couldn't control their power. Xehanort felt a shock of pain as his beam grew along with the others'; it was like the orb they'd created was ripping the power out of their bodies!

There was a horrible noise as the energy was suddenly torn completely from the bodies of Xehanort, his Heartless, and his Nobody, and the environment was entirely drained of its energy. The orb pulsed once, twice, three times… A horrible sound emitted from it, and it suddenly sent out a huge pulse as it collapsed in on itself. A terrible vortex opened from where it once hovered.

_"GET DOWN!!"_ Axel screamed, not caring who heard him. Larxene, caught off guard by the terrible pulse, was knocked off her feet as the vortex began, and was pulled into the air with a gasp of surprise and fright. Ansem the Wise was also being pulled forward.

Without thinking, Axel summoned his Chakram and drove one of them into the ground, quickly grabbing Ansem's wrists and making him grab it.

"Hold onto that!" He shouted, jumping after Larxene with the other one in hand.

Aware the portals of darkness were useless in midair, Axel grabbed Larxene's ankle and dug his other Chakram in hard to the wall of a damaged but still standing building between them and the vortex, stopping the pull, but only barely. Larxene managed to clamp into the wall with her Kunai, looking at Axel with an expression of mingled surprise and relief. Ansem himself was surprised; A Nobody risking their own life for others was the last thing he'd been expecting.

Axel looked at the vortex, and realized he was being pulled forward. As his expression turned to panic, his Chakram came loose and flew into the vortex. As Axel flew through the air, Larxene grabbed his hand and pinned him to the wall with a surprisingly strong grip.

The three Xehanorts did not fare so well. Slumping from lack of energy, the three were only able to keep their ground for a few moments before the vortex reached out to claim them.

Xemnas was the first to lose his footing, emitting a cry of terror as he was sucked into the void and vanished. Xehanort's Heartless tried to anchor himself with his Guardian's large claws, but was eventually pulled forward. In a moment, both were lost.

Xehanort dug in futilely with his Keyblade. He felt himself being dragged forward. In his desperation, he looked up and saw Ansem, Axel, and Larxene watching him, horrified. Xehanort's eyes held no hope; he knew he was doomed.

_"Save yourselves!"_ He shouted, finally losing his grip on the ground, and flew into the void without another sound.

"Xehanort!" Ansem shouted, watching the last vestige of goodness in his former apprentice vanish into the void. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he watched the void collapsing in on itself with an expression of helpless rage.

The sucking winds died down, and Larxene detached herself from the wall, dragging Axel.

"Dammit! That was _way_ too close!" Larxene shouted, unable to keep her voice from shaking.

"At least we lived…" Axel said, clearly shaken as well, "Erm… good… good save back there, Larx'." Larxene looked at him, utterly flummoxed. After a moment, she scratched her head.

"Uh… yeah. You too." She said awkwardly. She quickly took notice of Ansem walking towards the site of the meeting blasts. Smoke poured from the crater where the void had collapsed in on itself. "Hey! Old Guy! What are you doing?" She shouted in some alarm, glad to change the subject from her conversation with Axel. She quickly ran over, followed by Axel.

Ansem ignored the nobodies.

_Please… if there's any chance someone survived…_ He finally reached the crater, joined by Larxene and Axel.

"Do you…" Larxene started, but Axel suddenly pointed.

"Look!"

There was a humanoid figure in the smoke. Ansem tried to see, but it could have been any of the three Xehanorts. Larxene tugged on Axel's sleeve.

"Axel, I don't like this. We should get out of here."

"Larxene, what's wro—"

"Don't you _feel _that _thing?_" Larxene said, her voice nearly on the edge of panic. As Ansem and Axel looked, the thing in the crater opened its eyes.

Orange eyes, crackling with a malevolent energy that made Ansem's blood run cold. Axel suddenly felt, like Larxene, a terrible power emanating from the being in the crater.

"What do we do?" Ansem said, mostly to himself.

"_Run._" Axel barely recognized his own voice, but saw Larxene and Ansem staring at him. "_RUN! _Back to the After-Naught!"

Without pause or thought, the three sprinted away as the being in the crater got up, holding up a hand. The hand glowed with power that was… an unholy mixture of Light, Dark, and Nothing, like the consuming void… along with another energy… something far more sinister.

The being stood fully, looking at its hand in curiosity, before smiling with a malicious grin…

"Excellent…"


End file.
